


One Night

by fauxfillorian



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: IT JUST NEEDED TO EXIST, Karaoke, best believe eliot does britney, domestic babies!, i don't know what this is, i love them, they literally just sing karaoke, we love josh but he's not here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 05:32:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18276785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauxfillorian/pseuds/fauxfillorian
Summary: Margo thinks a night out is exactly what everyone needs. After all they've been through, they deserve to have a little fun. (Or, Magicians do karaoke. That's a good summary too.)





	One Night

**Author's Note:**

> We love Josh, but he's not here. Also, I only know a Penny40. What's a 23?

“Fuck this.”

Seven pairs of eyes landed on Margo who stood in the center of the group, hands on hips, a steady frown on her face. 

“You heard me,” she began. “Fuck this.” She snatched the bag of chips from Quentin’s hands as he lay across Eliot’s lap. 

“I was still eating those-”

“We’ve saved the world,” Margo cut in. “Saved Magic, ruled a kingdom, been a goddess, drank the special sauce of a _goddamned God_.” Alice grimaced and slid the cup of yogurt she was halfway through away. “So, we retire and laze around this place?”

Margo gestured around the apartment where seven messy Magicians were strewn across every available surface, phones or food in hand. Julia met Eliot’s eyes across the room and nodded to Margo in a _that’s your best friend, take care of this_ gesture.

Eliot rolled his eyes and paused his fingers in Quentin’s hair. “Well-”

“Hell no,” Margo interrupted again. “Get up! All of you. We’re going out.”

“We are?” Fen asked, a smile growing on her face. “I have always wondered how Children of Earth spend Fridays. There’s Taco Tuesday and oh! Let me guess…Funnel Cake Fridays,” she finished proudly. 

“Fen,” Eliot said with a shake of his head. “No.”

“Fudge Friday?” she tried again. 

“No.”

“Froot Loops?”

“No.”

“…Flan?”

“Fen.”

“Aren’t y’all still married?” Penny cut in, a smirk on his mouth as he gestured between the two. 

“No,” Eliot disagreed, then, “Yes. No. Doesn’t count.”

“How exactly does one get a Fillorian divorce?”

“What are you? The bigamy police?”

“You die,” Fen answered earnestly at the same time. 

“New topic,” Margo began. “How about we play the listen to Margo game? Get dressed. We’re all gonna go out, get drunk, have fun, maybe stumble into an orgy and we’re gonna live it up like we’ve fucking earned the right to!”

No one moved but instead looked around at each other, daring one another to be the one to say no to her. Truth be told, they were accustomed to the piggishness now. If you asked them, the right to not have to do literally anything else _ever_ was what they’d earned the right to. 

“Now!” she barked. 

Seven bodies stood, groaning, joints popping, yawns spilling out as they vacated their spaces on the couches, chairs and floors. 

“Thank you, babies,” she cooed as they started off to get dressed. “Oh,” she remembered, calling after them. “And to whom all it may concern: no ruffles, no messenger bags, no scarves, no hair jewelry and no knives! For fuck sake.”

* * *

“Margo, this…is a karaoke bar,” Julia pointed out as they entered the smoky Sidewine Karaoke Palace. The entire place was awash in a purple tint and was nearly empty save for maybe ten people and staff. 

“Emphasis on the ‘bar’. Now,” Margo started. “Let’s go find seats while me and Lucky Penny grab the drinks.” Penny rolled his eyes but didn’t object. 

“Cool,” Quentin said, feeling naked without his messenger bag. “I’ll just have-”

“Vodka,” Margo finished with a raised brow. “At the least.” Quentin opened his mouth to protest but Eliot shook his head. 

“There’s no arguing with Bambi, Q-tip,” Eliot cut in, wrapping an arm around Quentin’s shoulders. “Come on. No wine tonight.”

“But I wanted-”

“Shh,” Eliot said as they started away. He pulled Q’s head into his chest. “I know.”

“God, are they gonna touch tips all night?” Margo mumbled, grabbing Penny by the arm and dragging him to the bar. 

Julia led everyone to a booth in the back near the stage, giving them a perfect view of the red head who was currently butchering a Whitesnake song, the mic emitting awful feedback every few seconds. 

“There’s no way I’m getting through this night without punching something,” Kady said, knocking crumbs off the booth before she sat, Alice following her in with Fen on her tail. Eliot and Q were near the edge of the stage, flipping through the thick book of song choices. 

“I second that,” Penny agreed, overhearing as he and Margo arrived carrying two trays of drinks. 

“Oh my-” Julia started. 

“Wow,” Eliot remarked as he and Quentin returned. “What’s all this?”

“It’s called the Double Dozen. Eight tequilas, seven rums, five whiskeys, four vodkas for the weak…And, because I’m generous, one margarita each. Bottom’s up, bitches,” she grinned. 

Fen reached for a tequila shot, examining the liquid as she turned to Eliot. “Is this similar to the cham…” 

“…pagne,” he finished. 

“Yes! Is this similar to the champagne you were perfecting in Fillory?” she asked, raising the glass to her mouth. Everyone leaned forward to stop her. 

“Not-” Fen poured the entirety of the glass into her mouth. “Exactly,” Eliot grimaced. 

“It burns,” Fen breathed, fanning her tongue. “Is it supposed to burn?” 

“Kind of?” Penny answered. 

“Oh. Well.” Fen smacked her lips together and swallowed thickly. “I think I’ll have another.”

A round of grins went around the table and everyone reached for a shot. Alice made a sour face and tucked her hair over her shoulders Kady helping to push hair behind the blonde’s ear and shrugging defensively when the action garnered a few glances. 

“Let’s make a toast,” Fen suggested eagerly. 

“Um…” Julia spoke up. “To the fucked up getting fucked up.”

“Here, motherfuckin’, here!” Margo agreed. 

“I’ll drink to that,” Quentin added and they all eight threw back their drinks. 

Fen coughed. “Are you sure it’s _supposed_ to burn?”  


* * *

The crowd of ten thinned into a lucky five by the time they started karaoke. They’d already sat through four Beyonce’s, two One Directions and a very dedicated Snoop Dogg performance from the middle-aged balding man who introduced himself as Freaky Fred. 

Margo’d tossed several one-dollar bills on stage as the man worked through his rendition of Drop It Like It’s Hot, complete with two stepping and a scarf he’d brought from home to tie around his head. 

“Is it just me or did Fred get real cute after the second chorus?” Margo asked Julia as she struggled to get her lips around the straw in her margarita.

“Definitely just you,” Julia responded, watching as Quentin climbed up the steps to the stage, swaying a bit while Eliot kept his hands on his waist, boosting his boyfriend up. 

“Shake it off! Shake it off!” Penny sang loudly. 

“I am not singing Taylor Swift!” Quentin yelled back grumpily, lips much too close to the mic. Eliot laughed as he fumbled with the buttons on the screen in front of them. 

“So, you dye your hair?” Fen was asking Alice, sipping her own drink. 

“What?” Alice asked, trying to force the three Fens she saw into one. “I’m blonde.”

“But _this_ blonde?” Fen questioned, playing with the ends of a few strands. “Doubt it,” she snorted into her drink. “Can I braid it?”

“I have baby pictures I could show you. This is my hair,” Alice went on. 

“Doubt it,” Fen repeated. “Braid it?”

Alice opened her mouth to argue when the familiar sounds of Summer Nights from Grease started playing on stage. 

“Someone kill me,” Penny begged, downing another shot. 

“Seriously?” Margo heckled. “Grease?”

As if planned, Eliot and Quentin both held up a middle finger, dissolving into laughter together. 

“Grease!” Fen celebrated. “With the handsome hair actor. Patrick Swayze!” she finished. 

“John Travolta,” Kady corrected. 

“Bless you.”

Margo squeezed her eyes shut. 

“ _Summer lovin, had me a_ -” Quentin and Eliot started at the same time. 

“ _You_ be Sandy!” Quentin insisted. 

“Jesus,” Eliot mumbled, finding his place. “ _Met a boy cute as can be._ ”

“ _Summer days drifting away to oh, oh those summer nights!_ ” they sang together, holding their mics out for their group to sing the next part. 

“Fuck it,” Margo shrugged, carefully moving to stand on the seat and shout back at them. “ _Tell me more! Tell me more! Did you get very far!_ ” 

Julia and Penny glanced sideways at each other and picked up another glass, clinking em together before drinking. It only took a few more lines, several _fuck its_ and the setting in of numerous shots before the group was swaying along to the boys’ performance. 

“ _He got friendly holding my hand_ ,” Eliot sang, threading his fingers with Quentin’s. 

“ _He got friendly down in the sand_ \- shit!” Quentin tried to snake his way down Eliot’s body but lost his balance on the way, Eliot’s hands catching him and pulling him back up. 

The two fell into a fit of giggles, mics forgotten as they spent the rest of the song bent in laughter. When the last note played, Quentin turned to the bar to announce very loudly –

“I’m drink, butches!” – 

To which his entire table cheered.  


* * *

“Wait, wait, wait. Just like turn around and stand there like a curtain, like a curtain! And then when the music starts-” The trill of a piano sounded, signaling the beginning of Julia’s song. “Shit! Move!” she said, pushing Quentin and Penny off the stage. 

She fumbled for the mic and turned her back to the crowd, getting in place just in time to begin. She whipped her hair over her shoulder and spun unsteadily to face them. 

“ _At first I was afraid, I was petrified_ ,” she sang as she stalked down the stage. “ _Kept thinking I could never live without…my side_ ,” she struggled, losing her place. The words blurred before her on the screen and she blinked to clear her foggy vision. “Fuck me. … _back! From outer space! I just came here to find you there with that sad look upon your face!_ ”

The table clapped along as she jumped in place when the chorus started, her voice screeching, “ _I will survive! I will survive! Hey, hey!_ ”

“Yes! You will!” Quentin agreed passionately, jabbing his finger in her direction before turning and doing an awkward shuffle of a dance in front of Eliot. Penny snapped along, raising his drink in solidarity. 

“I dye it sometimes,” Alice admittedly quietly to Fen. “Rarely.”

“It looks good. I shouldn’t have said anything,” Fen said, wrapping an arm around the girl’s shoulders.  


* * *

“ _Baby, can’t you see? I’m calling_ ,” Eliot crooned seductively, hips swaying as he held onto the mic stand. “ _A guy like you should wear a warning,_ ” he sang, pointing to Quentin who’d joined him on stage, pulled him over by the collar of his shirt.

“I should!” Quentin yelled back. 

“ _With the taste of your lips, I’m on a ride! You’re toxic, I’m slipping under!_ ” 

Quentin snatched the mic away to press a kiss to Eliot’s mouth, Eliot immediately kissing him back as they swayed, holding on to each other for support while they stumbled. 

“Aww,” Fen cooed, watching the boys. Eliot gripped the back of Quentin’s neck. “Oh…” she continued. Eliot fell on top of Q, their heads dangling off the edge of the stage as they continued kissing. “Oh,” she repeated, eyes wide. “Okay. Maybe- Um- Whoa.”  
Margo tilted her head, watching the boys continue. “This brings back memories.”  


* * *

“Jesus Christ,” Margo mumbled out the side of her mouth. “Some people should not be in touch with their emotions.” 

“ _I wish I was special_ ,” Alice sang shakily, holding onto the mic for dear life. “ _You’re so fucking special!_ ”

Alice hit the chorus hard, voice building as she gripped the mic. “ _But I’m a creep!_ ” She fell to her knees, sobbing the words as the group exchanged a look. 

“Fuck me,” Eliot said. “It’s like watching a bird die.”

“Someone do something,” Quentin begged. “Anything.”

A beat passed. Glasses emptied as shots were knocked back and then-

“I’M A CREEP!” Kady yelled. The table turned to her and she shrugged, nodding to the stage. Julia shrugged too and joined in. 

“I’M A WEIRDOOOO!” 

“Sing it, girl!” Margo shouted at Alice who picked herself up and sniffed, pointing to the crowd like she didn’t even realize she was crying. 

“ _What the hell are we doing here?_ ” Alice hiccupped. 

Kady stood on the table and helped Julia up. “ _I don’t belong here!_ ” they sung back to her. Quentin tried to clap but forgot he was holding a glass and half the remaining margarita dripped down his front. Penny threw a napkin at him. 

“She said…” Fen paused to burp. “She said she dyes her hair but you didn’t hear that from me,” she mumbled to Eliot. 

“I fucking _knew_ it,” he hissed.  


* * *

“Alright, bitches,” Margo started as she skipped up the steps. “Get your phone lights out and watch how it’s done!” 

They were the last in the bar by this point, half the people having left when Quentin and Eliot started going to town and the other scared away at the sound of everyone half screeching out the hook of Creep. 

Margo lowered her head and clasped her hands around the mic like she was praying before beginning. “ _Mama…just killed a man…Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he’s dead!_ ” she held up a finger gun and pumped her thumb, pretending to fire.

She prowled around the stage, plugging her ear to hear better as she deepened her voice, fist clenched like she meant every word. 

“ _Mama-_ ”

“ _Oooh-_ ” The group starting, their voices immediately fading when Margo held up a finger. 

“I am my own backup!” she warned sternly, before jumping back into the song without missing a beat. “ _Didn’t mean to make you cry!_ ” she sang passionately. Everyone pressed their lips together obediently.

Margo moved gracefully through her one-woman show as if she’d practiced, utilizing the entire stage as she growled out the lyrics with more intensity than they needed. 

The group thumped on the table as the song neared the end, glasses rattling and feet stomping. Eliot whooped as Margo ran in place, hyping herself up. The bartenders had watched the group all night, biting back laughter and sometimes failing like now when Margo hunched over and turned her fingers to claws while awkwardly pretending to play piano. 

She was panting by the time she finished struggling through the hook, the last note causing a loud bit of feedback as she hit a series of sour notes. Several hands in the group moved to cover their ears. Margo stood, smacking the mic hard. 

“What the fuck. Why is there fucking reverb on this mic? _Just gotta get out_ \- I’m on key, fix this thing! _Just gotta get right out_ \- Jesus H. Macy, who calibrated this thing?” 

She pointed a perfectly painted nail in the direction of the bartenders. “Where’s the manager? I don’t sound like this- Don’t shrug at me, you Costco brand Vin Diesel. Fix this mic!”  


* * *

“ _Stop! Collaborate and listen! Penny’s back with a brand new invention!_ ” Penny rapped, arms gesturing wildly as he struck a pose at each corner of the stage. “ _Something grabs ahold of me tight_ \- Are you fucking filming this, Coldwater? What the fuck.” 

Penny dropped the mic and hopped off the stage, scowling, headed straight for Quentin who was failing at trying to hide his phone from view. He fumbled with the screen, managing to hit every button except the one to stop filming. 

“Uh oh,” Eliot started, holding an arm across Q’s chest as Penny reached the table. “Now, Penny calm down- ” 

Penny ignored him, fighting for the phone. “Delete it. I swear to god, Quentin. I’ll-”

Quentin curled in on himself, slinking under the table. “Eliot! Get him off!”

“Jesus, Penny,” Julia admonished, trying to pry his hands from Q’s collar. 

Margo knocked back the rest of her drink and smiled lazily at Alice, Fen and Kady. “This is fun, right?”  


* * *

Kady climbed on stage and immediately started into an accurate looking air guitar, her hands fingering the air and mimicking a slide up and down the neck of a guitar. It should have looked goofy but every flip of her curls erased the thought. She stared everyone down as she snatched up the mic. 

“ _One way or another, I’m gonna find ya, I’m gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha_!” Kady sang, each word punctuated with a point of her finger, a gesture that was meant to be playful but mostly just came off terrifying. 

“9-1-1. Hi. Yes,” Margo whispered so only Eliot could hear. He shushed her but snickered along with her. “Please send help.”

“ _I will drive past your house_ ,” Kady continued, holding the notes for longer than necessary and throwing in some extra, perfectly executed runs. “ _And if the lights are all down…I’ll see who’s around_ ,” she raised a leg on top of the speakers and leaned in.

“Show off,” Margo grumbled as Kady flipped her hair and hit another high note. 

“She’s really good,” Fen clapped. There was one drink left on the tray and she scooped it up and finished it, fanning her mouth again. “Maybe if we add ice in it?” she suggested to Penny. 

Kady threw in some shoulder shakes as she continued to shred on her invisible guitar, getting on her knees to fold backward on the stage as she went on. 

“Holy shit,” Julia clapped, watching her open-mouthed.

“I should have done a different song,” Alice lamented, watching her. 

“No,” Quentin shook his head. “Yours was... Maybe. Yeah.”  


* * *

“Hello, bar,” Fen waved. “I’m Fen and I’m new to Earth-” The whole table made a cutting motion and she paused. “I mean… _New York_ ,” she winked exaggeratedly. “But this is the first song I learned so, enjoy!” 

Fen tapped her foot to the techno beat that started up, bobbing her head so her hair, now loose from her braids, could wave. 

“This song has some sick bass,” Penny commented. 

“Oh yea?” Margo asked, grinning. “You think?”

Penny narrowed his eyes. “Yea, why-”

“ _Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo, baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo_ ,” Fen sang, complete with choreography, pinching her fingers together like a tiny mouth. 

“Sick bass, huh, dude?” Margo teased. Julia laughed into her empty glass. 

“ _Daddy shark doo doo doo doo_ \- Sing along if you know it!” Fen encouraged clapping her arms together. “ _Doo doo doo doo, daddy shark!_ ”

“Shut up,” Penny sneered at Margo.

Quentin raised his arms in the air and hollered, bobbing along to the song. Eliot made a face at his boyfriend, catching Margo’s eye across the table.

“That one’s yours,” she reminded him, smirking.  


* * *

Penny kicked Quentin’s shoe, drawing him awake. He peeled his face off the pillow he’d haphazardly collapsed on on the floor and rolled over to look up at Penny, the sun beaming in through the window making the action painful. 

“Here,” Penny said, shoving a plate at him. Quentin sat up, wincing at the throbbing pain that had started up at his temples and accepted the plate, his mouth watering at the sight. Eggs, bacon, sausage and two slices of toast, perfectly browned and buttered. 

“Where’d you get this?” Q asked, looking around to see almost everyone else was already awake and eating. “And why are we back at Brakebills?” The walls of the vacant Physical Kids’ Cottage hadn’t changed much at all, still busy and homey like they’d always been. 

“We snuck in and played Twister after karaoke,” Julia answered, chewing. Penny flicked Eliot in the arm until he jumped awake. He dropped his leg from over the back of the couch and sat up, grabbing his own plate. 

“And I made it,” Penny answered, finally plopping down beside Julia’s chair with his own food. 

“You cooked…for us?” Quentin clarified. 

“Don’t make a big whoop out of it, ok? It’s not a fucking marriage proposal.”

“The answer would be yes though,” Eliot moaned around a piece of toast. “Just so you know.”

“No, thanks,” Penny smirked. “Pretty sure you’re running out of room on your ring finger.”

“This one’s free,” Eliot retorted, flipping Penny off. 

“Pass.”

“Ember’s balls, my head hurts,” Fen complained before letting loose a long belch. 

“Geez,” Julia started, fanning the air. “Maybe slow down next time, huh?”

“Right,” Fen agreed. “Slow.”

“Did I hear about a next time?” Margo questioned, entering the room. Looking the most refreshed of the bunch, her hair was already lightly curled and tousled. “Did we have fun?”

“That’s one way to put it,” Alice groaned, massaging her temples. “Did I really sing Creep?” she peeked up at them. Kady screwed her face up. 

“‘Sing’ is one way to put it…” she said. Alice covered her face. 

“Listen,” Margo started. “I think it’s safe to say karaoke is maybe not any of our forte-”

“Kady was pretty good actually,” Alice interrupted. A murmur of agreement went around the room. 

“I mean…if you’re into Blondie, I guess,” Margo frowned. “Whatever. That mic was being weird. The point is…wasn’t it nice to just go out and be idiots?” she asked them. “I mean, no orgy, but I’d still say it was a success, right?”

“Yes, Margo,” Quentin started, after a glance around the room. “You were right.”

Margo pressed a hand to her heart. “I know. It’s still always so good to hear,” she sighed contentedly. 

“Maybe next time we choose the activity as a group,” Julia suggested, taking a sip of her tea. “Like what about a spa?” she offered. 

“Or an escape room,” Q spoke up. 

“Or paintball,” Kady threw out. 

“Or just a fucking movie,” Penny suggested. 

“Gunder ball!” Fen said enthusiastically, earning blank faces in return. “Gunder ball?” she tried again. “No? A gunder is a goat scrotum covered in the flesh of a white Mafalian tree and you hit it…back and forth?” she finished quietly, clearly losing her crowd. “It’s sort of like Pong-Ping?”

“Jesus Christ, Fen, okay,” Margo said. “I’m up for whatever, so long as it’s not this.” She gestured around their lounging bodies. “Now hurry up and eat so we can get out of here,” she told them, glancing around the space with a grimace. “This place reeks of authority.”

“Quick question,” Fen started. “Should it burn the day after, too?”

**Author's Note:**

> *sigh* I love Fen. I hope you enjoyed whatever this fic was! That musical episode just got me thinking and I pumped this thing out pretty quickly. The songs in case ya don't know em: Summer Nights, Stayin Alive, Toxic, Creep, Ice, Ice, Baby, Bohemian Rhapsody, One Way or Another and Baby Shark. Thanks for reading! Hope I provided some nice feels, at least. I'll write more sad stuff soon!


End file.
